WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: A question on political correctness...

for

From: Poore-Pariseau, Cindy
Date: Jul 20, 2012 9:55AM

I always used "person first language" as well until a person on my dissertation committee "enlightened" me. I now put the following along with anything I am teaching that is disability related.

While “person first” (i.e. "students with disabilities") language has been popularized in recent years, many professionals argue that, although a person may possess a particular characteristic such as blindness, the label of ”disabled” is socially constructed and has been imposed by society (Bowker, & Tuffin, 2007). For the purpose of this unit, the term “disabled student” will be utilized to signify that the lack of accessibility has caused the learning barrier rather than the impairment itself. (In other words, a person with an impairment would not be “disabled” in an environment that is accessible)

Bowker, N., & Tuffin, K. (2007, July). Understanding positive subjectivities made possible online for disabled people. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 36(2), 63-71. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.


"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow" ~John Dewey
Cindy Poore-Pariseau, Ph. D.
Bristol Community College
Coordinator of Disability Services
Office of Disability Services, L115
1

1 Email: <EMAIL REMOVED>
c Phone: (508) 678-2811 x 2470
 Fax: (508) 508-730-3297